Tiivistelmä

The main objective of this study is to map out how elderly people in Ghana are being cared for in their everyday lives. Furthermore, the study will bring to understanding what aging means to the inhabitants of Ghana. This study is based on five interviews, which is a small study to enable draw any conclusions about life situation in general. However, it gives an overview about how the elderly in Ghana and view their role in their family and society. The materials used were books, internets sources, articles and research materials. The main theories in this study are old age and care for the elderly in Ghana and sense of belonging and safety. Qualitative research method was chosen perform the empirical part of the study. Semi-structured interviews were used together with an open-ended question for guidance. The data gathered were then analysed by using content analysis.

The results showed that most elderly people in Ghana are being cared by the family, and one gets exempted by physical changes when ageing, psychological and biological changes. Also, the elders play the role of advisors within the family and society as a whole. By improving elderly care in Ghana, the government are been entrusted to provide community centres that will serve both purposes as a socialization place and a free health check-up centre once a week. Furthermore, the elderly agreed on the family being the most important thing in their lives being that spending time and enjoying the company brings some sort of joy and safety since there always someone around. Furthermore, they feel more belonging within the church and experience spirituality which draws them closer to God. But however, the society now doesn’t respect and support the elderly.